Comments for Mike Resnickhttp://mikeresnick.com
words of wonderSun, 18 Mar 2018 17:46:32 +0000hourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8Comment on About by MidSouthCon 36 | Planetary Defense Commandhttp://mikeresnick.com/?page_id=2#comment-81152
Sun, 18 Mar 2018 17:46:32 +0000http://www.mikeresnick.com/?page_id=2#comment-81152[…] could have done with fewer, as most attention was paid to one of the con’s guests of honor, Mike Resnick. (Mike is the author of one of the best short stories I’ve ever read, The Olympians). The […]
]]>Comment on About by The Olympians | Planetary Defense Commandhttp://mikeresnick.com/?page_id=2#comment-75589
Tue, 16 Aug 2016 14:18:12 +0000http://www.mikeresnick.com/?page_id=2#comment-75589[…] the plot. There are very few stories that I read years ago, but still recall without prompting. Mike Resnick‘s “The Olympians” is one of those, and I decided to post about it while the Olympics are […]
]]>Comment on About by Magazine: Galaxy’s Edge Jul 2015 | Planetary Defense Commandhttp://mikeresnick.com/?page_id=2#comment-72752
Thu, 21 Jan 2016 01:22:47 +0000http://www.mikeresnick.com/?page_id=2#comment-72752[…] open the ornately-carved temple door, then quickly close it behind me to keep the warmth inside. Mike Resnick sits cross-legged on the floor in front of me, wearing a golden robe embroidered with writing […]
]]>Comment on Novels by Mikehttp://mikeresnick.com/?page_id=555#comment-59821
Wed, 25 Mar 2015 07:28:55 +0000http://mikeresnick.com/?page_id=555#comment-59821I wrote “The Forgotten Sea of Mars” more than half a century ago. I had in mind that if it were found in ERB’s safe it would be indistinguishable from his own work, so I’m flattered that you feel that way. But I’ve since had 50 years of writing as Mike Resnick, and I think I would be very uncomfortable trying to masquerade as Burroughs at this late date.

— Mike

]]>Comment on The Resnick/Malzberg Dialogues #11: Influences (bad) by Mikehttp://mikeresnick.com/?p=1703#comment-21044
Fri, 03 Jan 2014 07:20:45 +0000http://mikeresnick.com/?p=1703#comment-21044My memory — and it’s been close to half a century — is that the “ballot” was not a bunch of stories from which the voters could choose, such as the HUgo or Nebula ballots. I seem to remember that each writer was asked to nominate his favorite (or “the best”) prior to the formation of SFWA in 1963, and only Heinlein placed 2 stories in the top 30. The guy to ask, though, is Bob Silverberg; he edited the book, and was our second President, just about the time the book was being put together.
]]>Comment on The Resnick/Malzberg Dialogues #11: Influences (bad) by James Geerhttp://mikeresnick.com/?p=1703#comment-21030
Thu, 02 Jan 2014 21:53:32 +0000http://mikeresnick.com/?p=1703#comment-21030Thank you, Mr. Resnick.

RE: your comment about Heinlein being included twice, I think the same was true of Clarke and Bradbury. Clarke’s story,
‘The Nine Billion Names of God” would have been joined by “The Star”. Bradbury’s story “Mars is Heaven!” would have been joined by… I don’t remember. (“The Veldt”? “All Summer in a Day”? “A Sound of Thunder”? Too many choices to name.)

The author who really surprised me by NOT appearing in any of the anthologies was William Tenn. I thought his stories were often brilliant.

Your comments regarding “Flowers for Algernon” were disturbing. I thought that they had taken nominations from the general membership. Is it possible that FFA didn’t get enough nominations from your fellow SF writers? Seems strange to me too.

About the ballot: I’m going to ask Harlan Ellison next. From what I’ve read, he is a packrat who saves everything. Maybe he has an original ballot somewhere. The search goes on….

Thanks for your time. And Happy New Year.

James Geer

]]>Comment on The Resnick/Malzberg Dialogues #11: Influences (bad) by Mikehttp://mikeresnick.com/?p=1703#comment-20495
Fri, 27 Dec 2013 02:57:39 +0000http://mikeresnick.com/?p=1703#comment-20495I no longer have the ballot. The one thing I remember is that all the stories had to have been published -before- SFWA was created. There were a couple of surprising omissions, and I seem to remember they created a rule that no author could have more than one story in the Hall of Fame (the rule, as I recall, was made specifically for Heinlein, who otherwise would have had two or three of the top vote-getters). The second Hall of Fame, the 2-volume novella set edited by Ben Bova, was a bit of an afterthought, and a damned good one, when you realize that that Heinlein’s “Universe”, Williamson’s “With Folded Hands”, and Campbell’s “Who Goes There?” were too long for the first volume. On the other hand, to its everlasting shame, the membership did not include Dan Keyes’ “Flowers for Algernon”. Anyway, it’s all ancient history now. I think I was 23 or 24 when we voted, and I’ll be 72 in March. 🙂
]]>Comment on The Resnick/Malzberg Dialogues #11: Influences (bad) by James Geerhttp://mikeresnick.com/?p=1703#comment-20484
Thu, 26 Dec 2013 21:34:37 +0000http://mikeresnick.com/?p=1703#comment-20484Dear Mr. Resnick:

LOVED this article. Talk about taking on sacred cows! (How DARE you attack the favorite writer of my youth, ERB??!!)

Sad to say, I had come to the same conclusion about Burroughs. Each series — Tarzan, Mars, Pellucidar, etc — started out great, and got increasingly formulaic, bland, and just plain boring.

Mr. Resnick, I have two questions. If you can spare the time to answer, I would appreciate it.

The first is a minor one, about the Shaver Mystery. I’ve never read any of these stories. Have they ever been reprinted anywhere? I”d especially like to read “I Remember Lemuria”.

The second is more involved, and might take some time to explain.

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame books ( volume one edited by Silverberg, volumes two and three edited by Bova) were the books that really turned me on to science fiction as a young teenager. It’s not too strong to say that they changed my life.

In the introduction to these books, both Silverberg and Bova talk about the balloting process that was used to select the stories involved.

The writers of SFWA voted on the titles to be included. While I don’t know if you were a member of SFWA then (late ’60s), it is not beyond the realm of possibility that you had a hand in voting for the “winners”, as it were.

Here’s the question. I’ve been dying to find out what stories were nominated, yet didn’t make the final cut. The only way of ascertaining this is to find an original ballot, and note which stories weren’t included in the books.

I’ve contacted Silverberg and Bova, and even SFWA itself. No help from any of these parties. SFWA noted that they would also like to have the original lists of stories nominated. (If they don’t have the lists, who would?)

Anyway, I’m hoping that a long-time writer like yourself might have kept a copy of the original ballot squirreled away in a box of personal papers somewhere. Nelson Bond thought he had a copy, but he was unable to locate it before he died.

If you can help with either of these queries, I would appreciate it.

Thank you,

James Geer

PS: I know how busy you are. If it would take more than a few minutes to find out the answer to either of these queries, please don’t bother. I’d rather you were writing than chasing down trivia.

]]>Comment on Novels by Jeffhttp://mikeresnick.com/?page_id=555#comment-20160
Fri, 20 Dec 2013 21:04:05 +0000http://mikeresnick.com/?page_id=555#comment-20160Just finished reading Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Your “Forgotten Seas of Mars” is ERB. If I didn’t know better I would have bet it was some lost script of his. Excellent work. If ERB, Inc. ever decides to authorize a new Barsoom novel, Mike Resnick is the one to write it bar none. Thoroughly enjoyable as is all ERB and MR books are.
]]>Comment on Mike’s E-Book Shop by Mikehttp://mikeresnick.com/?page_id=455#comment-20006
Mon, 16 Dec 2013 19:51:33 +0000http://mikeresnick.com/?page_id=455#comment-20006I enjoyed editing the Whatdunit books, but I do not control the rights on them. Those rights belong either to Tekno Books (the late Marty Greenberg’s company) or DAW Books, and it would be up to whichever of them currently controls the rights to arrange e-book publication.
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